The world is teetering on the brink of World War III, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has warned, sounding the alarm about the recent escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
Lukashenko made the remarks on Friday during an address to university students in Minsk, days after Ukraine launched several strikes using US-made ATACMS and HIMARS systems, as well as British-made Storm Shadow missiles, into territory internationally recognized as Russia, something Moscow had previously strongly warned against.
Moscow responded with its own strike on a defense complex in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, using its latest Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range missile.
“We have been talking a lot lately about how, God forbid, World War III might start, that we are on the brink of that terrible event. But, thank God, somehow humanity is still restraining itself and has not yet plunged into World War III,” the Belarusian leader said, adding that the “information war,” however, is now in full swing.
He added that the Ukraine conflict should be settled through talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. “No Americans, no Europeans – they won’t do anything good for us... We have to sit down and come to an agreement,” he stressed.
Instead, however, the conflict continues to escalate, Lukashenko noted. “Under no circumstances should [Belarus] get involved. If it comes to a clash between Russia and NATO, it will not be easy for us either. We don’t want war on our territory, we don’t want other people’s interests to be decided here at our expense,” he stressed.
Belarus is an ally of Russia under the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The two are also part of the Union State, an entity aimed at bringing Moscow and Minsk closer together economically and geopolitically.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Belarus has supported Russia, but has not directly engaged in hostilities. It also hosted several rounds of peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, which failed to lead to a decisive breakthrough. Despite this, Lukashenko has repeatedly urged the two countries to negotiate, while offering his mediation.